1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an anode and a lithium-ion secondary battery.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, there are increasing demands for higher capacities of electrodes in the lithium-ion secondary batteries. For achieving a higher capacity of an electrode, it was common practice in the conventional technology to increase the packing density of the electrode by adjusting processing conditions in fabrication of the electrode, e.g., by increasing the press pressure or the like, and thereby to increase the capacity per volume (e.g., cf Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 2005-63955, 2004-127913, 2005-317493, 2000-251890, 2003-142075, and 2005-222933).
However, the increase in press pressure comes to pose a problem that the active material in the electrode (particularly, the active material on the surface side of the electrode) is crushed to become flat, so as to decrease the number of voids in the electrode whereby flow paths of an electrolyte solution are closed. When the flow paths of the electrolyte solution are closed, lithium ions remain on the surface of the electrode to promote generation of dendrites. With generation of dendrites, a short circuit might occur between electrodes so as to raise a risk of ignition or the like.